Internal combustion engine



Feb: 16,1932. H. CUTLER I INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 n1 .1 i a T w 2 N N w W 9 W# T 9 w 4 0 w n A 9 w a @m kw a 5 a w I w 1 or WW5 ull d 1 h v0 WIWM u Q7: W n m d f w 1 w 0 u a A U 2Q B llll V FIFE W I F); 0 l I g x I M y g m f;

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INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Sept. 29 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 2nun/11111111 Feb. 16, 1932. H. H. CUTLE R 1,845,245

' INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 29, 1928 \lTmaAT TEIIRYNEU:

Feb. 16, 1932. H. H. CUTLER INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE s Sheets-Sheet '4Filed Sept. 29, 1928 ATT DRNELI:

Feb. 16, 1932.

6 Sheets-Sheet 5- Filed Sept. 29, 1928 I a 0 I e Sheets-Sheet 6 FiledSept. 29, 1928 Patented Feb. 16,1932

\ UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE HENRY H. CUTLER, F BROOKLINE,MASSACHUSETTS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Application filed September 29,1928. Serial No. 309,180.

My invention relates to internal combustionengines and particularly tosuch engines for use in flying machines.

The general object of my invention is to provide means for mechanicallysupply ng liquid fuel and air to an airplane engine withoutthe' use of acarburetor, such means involving the maintenance of synchronism betweena mechanically-created influx of air ad a mechanically-created influx offuel w ereby the ratio of the rate of such influx of liquid fuel to therate of the influx of air ofcombustion flowing into the cylinder whenthe air intake valve is open is maintained ap- IS proximately constantwhen the engine is under load.

Other objects of my invention are to provide means for clearing theengine cylinders sure of the influxof air of combustion, and meanswhereby the intake valve of the cylinder is maintained at 1ts maximumopening for a relatively large part of a crankshaft revolution; toprovide means for actuating the fuel pump on its delivery stroke insynchronism with the power piston of the engine during the first portionof the intake stroke of said power piston, and other means forcompleting said delivery stroke during the remaining portion of'saidintake stroke and a portion of the compression stroke of the powerpiston, and for holding said plunger at the end of its delivery? strokeduring the re-' maining portion of the compress on stroke of thepower'pist on and during the entire power stroke thereof.

Other objects of my invention will hereinafterappear in the particulardescription of the mechanism illustrated" to explain the 40 principleunderlying the same.-

'ith the foregoing objects inview, my invention comp-rises an internalcombustion engine provided with a mechanically-driven fuel pump, andmechanism for actuating the plunger of the same in such manner that theof inert gas, means for increasing the presto shortly after thebeginning of the intake stroke thereof whereby the mechanical scavengingof the cylinder is supplemented and made more complete by pneumatic Iscavenging; and also means whereby the air of combustion is blown intothe engine cylinders duringthe intake stroke of the power piston underconsiderable pressure, instead of being merely sucked in at atmosphericpres- 5 sure by'tlie movement of the power piston.

My invention further comprises manuallyactuated means for varying thevolume of liquid fuel and also the influx of the air of combustion inaccordance with the load on the engine.

' My invent on comprises also an arrangement-of cams for actuating andcontrolling the fuel pump, one cam effecting the first portion ofthedelivery stroke of said pump in synchronism with the intake stroke ofthe power piston. another cam completing such delivery stroke insubstantial accordance with the rate of speed of the air influx and thenholding the pump plunger at the end of so said stroke during theremaining portion of the compression stroke ofthe power piston andduring the entire power stroke of the latter. and a third cam closingthe intake port of said pump plunger during the delivery stroke thereof.v

' My invention may best be understood by having reference'to thedrawings accom-. panying and forming a part of this specification inwhich Figure 1 is a central vertical section on an enlarged scale in aplane passing through the axis of the crank shaft of the cylinder whichincludes the master piston, and the parts associated therewith; i

'Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of all the cylinders in a plane atright angles to the power piston; I

Fig. 3 is a side elevation with certain parts shown in section taken onthe line 3-3. of Fig.1; 4 Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating therelations between-the sleeve valves and the exhaust and intake parts atthe moment that the master piston in cylinder No.1 is.

about to begin its mechanical suction "stroke,

- horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.1;

, "of the air intakevalve control;-'

each component part ofsaid view being a Fig. '5 is an elevation on anenlarged scale Fig. 6 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale of thecams and actuating means therefor, wherebythe fuel pump is regulated andcontrolled; I

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on scale of the fuel pump;

Fig. 8 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the tappet arms'wherebythe fuel pump is actuated and controlled;

Figs. 9 and 10are plan views construction; n n

Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line 11 11 of Fig. 5; Fig..'12 is'anelevation of one of the cams whereby the stroke of the pump plunger iscontrolled; and

Fig. 13 is a similar view of one of the cams an enlarged of detailsofwherebythe' intake valve of the fuel pump is In the particulardrawings selected for more fully disclosing the principle of myinvention,f is a crank shaft suitably jourmaster connecting rod'24. Theother eight nalled in the frame of the engine and provided with abalancedfcrank 21 which is pivotallyconnected with the master piston 22in the -master cylinder 23 by means of the cylinders 2532 are spacedaround the crank shaft, as shown in Fig. 2, the angle between i thecenters of the two adjacent pistons being slightly less than fortydegrees for a .purpose' hereinafter explained. The pistons 33 ofcylinders '23-32, inclusive, are connected to'the master connecting rod24 by means of connectingrods 34 and pins 35, said pins passmg throughthe bifurcated end 36 of said rod 24. .Each cylinder is providedwithasleeve valve-which has-a portopening'38 of about one hundreddegrees in length, said port opening-registering atthe proper times withthe engine intake port 39 and exhaust port 40, each of which is about.twenty degrees in length, the sleeve valve of the master cylinder bemgshown at 37 l the propeller. end of the englne and Keyed to the sleevevalve of the master cylinder through the intermediary of'the sleeve 41is a spur gear 42 meshing with the inion 43 which is keyed to the stud44 rotated y the bevel gears 45 and 46, the latter being keyed the bevelgear 47 which meshes with similar bevel gears 48. and 49 rigidlyattached, re-

spectively, to the sleeve valves 50, 51, respectively, of the cylinders25 and 32 so that the said sleeve valves 50, 51 bothrotate in the samedirection but oppositelyto the dlrection of rotation of the sleeve valve37.. Y

In like manner, the bevel gears 48 and 49 mesh with similar gears on thesleeve valves of the cylinders next adjacent thereto, and so on, withthe exception of the sleeve valves on c'ylinders28 and 2 9, which sleevevalves are provided with bevel gears, each meshing wlth 'on the sleevevalves of the next adjacent cylinders," but not meshing with each other-1 In order to provide a space between the bevel gears 52, 53 attached tothe sleeve valves of the cylinders 28, 29 'so that said gears will notmesh with each other, the an le between the longitudinal axes of each adacent pair of cylinders istaken. at slightly less than forty degrees.The-directions of rotation of the several sleeve valves, as viewed froma pointabove eachcylinder, is'indic'ated by the arrows in Fig, .4. Thedirection of rotation V v of the crank shaft in the present instance,from the viewpoint of a person standing at the latter, iscounterclockwise.

It will be notedthat each sleeve valve r01 tates continuously in thesame direction, that the'valve period is onehundred and twenty Ydegrees, andthat both the admission and exhaust valves of'each cylinderare open at the same time for twenty degrees of sleeve valve travel, orforty degrees of crank shaft travel.

.Each intake valve registerswith a cone 54 within which is housedabutterfly valve 55,

meshing with the segmental rack 57 which is pivotally connected to thecone and manually controlled in any suitable manner. In

facing secured 'to the axis of which is a pinion 56 the presentinstance, I have illustrated a rod 58.connected with the inner end ofsaid rack 57, and having its lower end in engagement with a hole 58 inthe disc 59 which in turn is attached-to the pinion; 60'which mesheswith the rack61, the latter being under control of the operator throughthe rod- 62 and bell crank 63.

As will be obvious, the rotation of the propeller 64 will cause a blastof air-toimpinge on each cone 54 so' that-a quantity of air underpressure will be blown into. the cylinder when the intake valve 39 isopen, the amount thereof being regulatable at the will of the op eratorby means of the rod 62 above described. This arrangement constitutes avaluable improvement because it not only assists in scav euging, butalso takes the place of a supercharger, as hereinafter more fullyexplained. I prefer to so arrange matters that each ad-- mission valveopens twenty degrees early and closes forty degrees late, that is tosay, opens twenty degrees before the piston reaches the upper end of itsscavenging stroke and-does not close until the piston has passed fortydegrees beyond lower dead center on its intake stroke, and has proceededforty degrees from lower dead center on its compression stroke. In suchcase the intake valve is open for two hundred and forty degrees of thecrank shaft rotation and is wide open during one hundred and sixtydegrees thereof. I prefer alsoto have the exhaust valve open fortydegrees early and close'dtwenty degrees late, that is to say, to openforty degrees before the pistonreaches lower dead center on its powerstroke, and to remain open until the piston reaches a point on itsintake stroke corresponding to twenty degrees past upper dead center. Itwill be noted that the exhaust valve also is open for two hundredandforty degrees of crank shaft rotation, and is wide open during onehundred and sixty degrees thereof. When the valves are adjusted asaforesaid, the fuel starts to feed twenty degrees late, that is, uponthe closureof the exhaust valve which, as aforesaid, takes place twentydegrees beyond upper dead center on the intake stroke, and the fuelfeeding ceases forty degrees late. that is, not until the power pistonhas passed forty degrees beyond lower dead center on its compressionstroke. The advantage of these arrangements will be here inafter setforth. i

The means whereby a mixture of liquid fuel and air is supplied-to thecylinders without the use of the carburetor is as follows, it beingunderstood of course that the particular mechanism described foraccomplishing this result is merely illustrative: Located partly withineach of the cones 54 1s a fuel feed pump having an intake valve 66 whichis controlled by the tappet rod 67, spring 68, cam 69 and tappet lever70. The pump 1s provided also with a plunger 71 which is normallyretracted to or toward the end of its intake stroke by the spring 72,saidplunger being actuated in part by the conical cam 73 andin part bythe cam 74 through the tappet rod 75 and tappet levers '76 and 84.

' r The cam 73 is a truncated cone bored longitudiually in a directionparallel to a generatrix thereof, the distance between which and theaxis of the crank shaft on which 'said' cone is mounted for rotationtherewith, and for longitudinal adjustment with respect thereto, beingequal to the maximum delivery stroke of the pump that can be effected bysaid cone. means of the rod 77, lever '78 and the slide 79 having apin-and-slot connection with said lever and engaging-acircumferenrighthand position, having referenceto Fig. 1

1, the tappet levers 76, and said cone, will actuate the pump plungersat the maximum stroke that can be. effected by said cone. When saidlevers are midway between the ends of said cone, the plungers will workat half stroke, and when said cone is moved to its extreme lefthandposition, nomovement at all will be imparted to the levers 76, becausethe section of said cam in a plane at right angles to the crank shaft atthat point is a circle concentric with the crank shaft.

It will be noted that the outermost position of each pump plunger at theend of its delivery stroke is independent of the longitudinal positionof said cone 73. The tappet levers 76 whereby each tappet 'rod 75 isgiven an upward movement, may be constructed as shown in Fig. 8. TwoU-shaped members 81, 82 are placed in the same plane and their abuttingportions riveted together as shown at 83, such central portioncomprising the tappet lever 76 and normally maintained against the cone73 by the spring 72. The lower end of, the tappet rod 5 rests ontheouter end of the arm 84 of the U-shaped member 81 so that the motionimparted to-the arm 76 will be transmitted to the tappet rod 75. .Thearm 85 of the righthand U-shaped member 82'is disposed within thepathway of the cam 74' in order to give the pump plungers additionalmovement after the conicalcam 73 has imparted tothe same the maximummovement possible for any particular setting of said conical cam. Thecams 74 are so shaped that not only is the above mentioned additionalmovement imparted to the pump plungers, but each said plunger is held atthe end of its delivery stroke during the greater portion of thecompression stroke of the power piston and during the entire powerstroke of the latter. 4

Mounted about the shaft 86 which-carries the tappet levers 76 is aU-shaped member 87 comprising the arm 88 on which rests the tappet rod67 which actuates the intake valve of the fuel pump, and the arm 70, theouter end of which is disposed within the athway of the cam 69, the saidcams 69 and 4 being arranged alternately on the crank shaft and heldagainst mutual relative movement by the pins 89 passing through' theholes 90, 91 and threaded into the gear 92,- the latter meshing withpinion 93 which has one half the pitch of gear 92 and is mounted to'rotate with the shaft 94, the latter in turn being rotatedby'the crankshaft through the gear- 7 ing 95, 96. The arrangement is such that thespring 68 normally res'ses the tappet rod 67 against the outer end ofthe arm 88, and thereby maintains the intake valve 66 of the pump on itsseat until the plunger 71 begins its suction stroke whereupon, anduntil'the completion thereof, said valve 66 is maintained ofl its seat.vThe pipe 97 conductsthe fuel supply froma source (not shown) to thecircular pi e 98 from which radiate pipes 99 to the inta eports of eachfuel pump. Upon I the inward stroke of the plunger 71, the valve 66being off its seat, a charge of liquid fuel passes through the port-100into the pump barrel 101, and upon the outward or delivery stroke, thevalve 66 being closed, saidv fuel forces the check valve 102 from itsseat and is sprayed into the cones 54 through the port 103 which. issuitably constructed to facilltate the fine sub-division of the fuel inany apsleet and'snow.

The operation is as follows: When a piston is at upper dead. center andis about to begin its intake 'stroke, the'intake valve 39 has beenpartly uncovered by the port 38, and the exhaust valve is partly open,as will be evident from the position of the parts in No. 1 i cylinderindicated in Fig. 4. As above stated,

the intake "and-exhaust valves are open at the sametime for fort degreesof crank shaft travel, and durin t is time, fresh air is being blownthrou h t e combustion'chamber of the cylinder y the propeller 64,thereby ensuring perfect and complete scavenging.

At twenty degrees from upper dead center on the intake stroke, theexhaust valve closes and the intake valve is fully open. At this point,the fuel pump commences its dehvery stroke and-atomized fuel is forcedfrom the port 103 into the cone 54, while at the same time, air underpressure is forced into said cone by the propeller, and by the combinedaction of the suc ion created by the piston on its intake stroke-and theblast of airiforced into said cone by'the propeller, the charge'isforced into the combustion chamber. The intake valve remains wide openfor one hundred and sixty degrees ofcrank shaft rotation, whereupon itbegins to close, and is completely closed forty degrees beyond lowerdead center, at which time the pump plunger has reached the end of itsdelivery stroke where it'remains through the action of the cam 74 duringthe remaining portion of the compression" stroke and dur ng the entirepower stroke.

The pump plunger acts in a synchronism with the engine piston 'duringthe first portion offtheintake stroke of the latter and actuated duringthe remaining portion of said intake'stroke in substantial accordancewith the rate of speed of the air influx. There-- speed higher than thatcorresponding to the .3

movement of the piston; Therefore, I have provided the supplementalearns 74 co-operatmg with the tappet arms for completing the deliverystro e of the pump plunger in substantial accordance with the rate ofspeed of the air influx, such supplemental cam coming into engagementwith the tappet arm,85 at about the time that the conical cam 73 hasglven 1ts co-operating tappet arm 76 the maxlmum motion possible.

By the foregoing arrangements, the supply of liquid-fuel is variedaccording tothe engine load and the ratio of the rate of influx of'l1qu1d fuel to the rate of the influx of air of combustion ismaintained practically constant when the air intake valve is open undersuch variations of load as would be encountered in driving an airplane.

Continued rotation of the crank shaft causes the piston to rise andcomplete its compresslon stroke, whereupon ignition occurs and the powerstroke ensues. When the piston reaches a point about forty degrees aheadof lower dead center on its power stroke, the port 38' begins to uncoverthe exhaust port 40 wh ch, as above stated, remains open during thescavenging stroke and until the piston has passed upper dead center andhas reached a polnt twenty degrees beyond the same, whereupon theexhaust valve closes. When the piston on its scavenging stroke reaches apoint twenty degrees before upper dead center, the intake valve beginsto open, and from that point until the closure of the exhaust valve,stated above-as twenty degrees beyond upper dead center, thisperiodbeing forty degrees of crank shaft rotation, there isan open passagefrom the cone 54 to the intake valve, the combustion chamber and theexhaustvalve, through which passage for the period above mentioned,fresh air is forced through the combustion chamber to complete thescavenging thereof.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that I by means of my inventionthe power of an airplane engine per unit of weight is greatl increased,and the engine rendered more rehable in action.

Inasmuch as the principle underlying my invention may be embodied in avariety of structures, I do not limit myself to the particulararrangements herein specifically described. v i

I claim I 1. An internal combustion engine comprising in combination acrank shaft, a plurality of cylinders radially disposed about saidshaft, each cylinder being provided with an air intake port and With anexhaust port, means actuatedby said shaft for creating a current of airimpinging upon each said intake port, means for opening said exhaustport and maintaining the same open durin the scavenging stroke and foropening said intake port during the latter portion of the scavengingstroke, and manually-actuated and weight of fuel supplied to'the enginecylinder and'having a spray nozzle arranged to spray fuel so as tointersect the current of air just before the latter passes through theintake valve into the cylinder of the eng1 In testimony whereof, I havehereunto subscribed my name this 28th day of September,

HENRY CUTLER. f

means for simultaneously controlling the inp flux of air into eachcylinder.

2. An internal combustion en 'ne comprising in combination a crank sha aplurality of cylinders radially disposed about said shaft, a fuel feedpump associated with each said cylinder, a conical cam driven by saidshaft, means connecting each said pump for actuation by said cam, 'and aplurality of cams, one for each said cylinder, for controlling theoperation of each said pump.

3. An internal combustion en ine comprisa ing in combination a crank shat, a plurality of cylinders radially disposed about said I shaft, a fuelfeed pump associated with each said cylinder, a conical cam mounted'onand rotated by said shaft, a plurality of cams, one for each said pumpmounted on, but freely rotatable with respect to, said shaft, means fordriving the last mentioned cams at lower speed than said shaft, aplurality of pairs of tappet levers, means connecting the'members ofeach said pair of tappet levers rigidly together, one of said arms ofeach pair of tappet levers being actuated by said conical cam,

and the other of said arms of each saidrpair' of tappet levers beingactuated by said cams, respectively, and means connecting each of saidpair of tappet levers with said pumps, respectively.

4. An internal combustion engine comprisin; in combination a crankshaft, a plurality of cylinders radially dis osed about said shaft, aplurality of fuel eed pumps associated with each said cylinder, anintake valve for each of said pumps, means driven by said shaft foractuating said pumps, a plurality of cams mounted on, but rotatable withrespect to, said shaft, means for driving said cams at lower speed thansaid shaft, a plurality of tappet levers each actuated b one of saidcams, and means mechanica y connecting said tappet levers, respectively,with the intake valves of each saidfuel pump.

'5. In an internal combustion engine, an

air inlet valve and a fuel pump for each cylinder of the engine, saidfuel pump being mechanically driven so as to maintain a substantiallyconstant ratio between the weight of air

